According to the Dissanayake.E(1991), his article “What is art for?” maintained that “art is for life’s sake”(Page 1) and “What is western art”. he also points out that different period arts have different meanings and influences for people. The most important part that make me think deeply about is that he said:”art is inherent universal trait. ” Yes, art is universal. It make me recall a sentence that comes from the presentation named A Darwinian theory of beauty, which is from Denis Dutton, said that:” People in very different cultures all over the world, tend to like a particular kind of landscape, a landscape just happens to be similar.” Because the art in our world has numerous similarities, so that our world become varied and graceful.
As an international student, I was impressed by the reading’s points about art because the author not only tell us some history of western art that I have never knew before, but also points out a question of what is art for. According to the Dissanayake.E(1991), he said that “art is psychological and emotional need and it also has psychological and emotional effects”.(Page 1) Art not only can be defined by what we usual think in the daily life, for instance, the painting, music or the dance. It can also be an attitude, an exciting football game, or a leisurely afternoon with my grandmother. Art is in our life. It is the reason why I am impressed by the sentence from Dissanayake. E(1991) that “art is for life’s sake.”In some cases, people who like to create art is because they want to express their emotion and find audience to understand their world. Even though the Dissanayake. E said that some people disinterest of what is art. Art can be published in the world, so it also can be ignored by the world. That is why art works sometimes need to wait for couple years for people to understand their value.
Reference
Dissanayake. E(1991),What is art for? In K.C. Caroll(Ed.) Key note adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention) (pp, 15-16)
Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty(2010 ) Video Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PktUzdnBqWI
After read your comments, I have a question about the “In some cases, people who like to create art is because they want to express their emotion and find audience to understand their world. ” in your sentence, I think it is easier to express their emotion more directly with plain words, or creating pieces by comments with their feelings. But how come do they use more complex way to express their emotion? For my understanding, sometimes, they cannot even describe their feelings other by creating art pieces. Or for some abstract pictures, it has one more than one meaning for different people. By creating art pieces, different people can read different information from the same art piece. It provides the platform for people to think about life, think about the art. Another example is that when reading a novel, we may find some characters are familiar with us or someone we met in our life. For me, art piece not only shows the authors’ emotion but can make connection those viewers withe their life experience.
Shuwen, I think that your recognition of Dissanayake’s claim that art is universal is a very important realization that some people never get to. There are many varieties of art, as well as many purposes for creating or observing it. Within the diverse forms of art exists infinite influences, interpretations, and portrayals of art, but it is clear that art surrounds us all. It is interesting to think about how many people ignore the presence of art around us, while others can be so immersed in its beauty and value. Your description of some people’s disinterest in art accurately uses the author’s view that “dismissal, ignorance, irrelevance, and exclusivity of art are all artifacts of our own peculiar cultural predicament and not inherent in arts anywhere else.” For me, art maintains a deep relationship with the individuals who create it, but it also displays interpretations of feelings, experiences, visions, and scenes that many humans can relate to. I think that being able to appreciate the depth in art history is one of great subject that should always continue to be admired and taught in all countries. I noticed you mentioned that sometimes it takes a while for people to understand the message in artwork or the value of the presence of art. Do you, in your international student perspective, see differences in the way that American culture appreciates or talks about art? I am not sure where you are originally from, but I wonder what you think about your home country and their unique use of art within the culture. Can you see any differences in the way that citizens here understand or appreciate art?
Thanks,
Anna
Shuwen, I like the way that you address art as not only being universal but also as a necessity to life as a whole. You discuss how art is not only found in dance, paintings, or music but also in the form of our daily activities. I believe that this is a very good point because art is beautiful and can be found in anything that we do and that we enjoy. As Dissanayake points out, “the appellation of ‘art’ is given to objects that possess some quality—of beauty, harmony, excellence—and denied to those that do not” (Dissanayake 25). This includes pretty much anything in life that we admire, appreciate, and enjoy. So with the evolution of art in mind, could someone claim that art cannot be found in things that we don’t typically consider to be beautiful such as death, storms, and disease? All of these are natural events which is what art used to depict, but are they still considered ‘art’ through Dissanayake’s definition?
I really enjoyed your take on Ellen Dissanayake’s “What Is Art For?” I think one of the things that you really showed without overtly stating it is the fact that life cannot exist without art. It is not something we really have to express outside of our human nature, but instead it is a natural expression and need of human life. For this reason people need to express through art because it is the natural way to express many of humanities beliefs and views.
The one issue I have with your assessment of the article is when you are talking about the ways art can be expressed. I think you may be reading into Ellen’s views a little too much when she talks about “thinking of art as a kind of behavior that developed.“(p.1) I think that she is more talking about a behavior as in doing the act and not the attitude that displayed while in natural situations. I think she is talking about the style in which you do things not the emotions behind them. That is the art.